Mariah Carey’s mother and sister died on the same day

Mariah Carey’s mother and sister died on the same day

Mariah Carey announced over the weekend that both her mother, Patricia, and her sister, Alison, passed away on the same day. In a statement on Monday, the Grammy-winning singer expressed her profound sadness: “My heart is broken that I lost my mother this past weekend. Tragically, my sister also lost her life on the same day.”

Carey shared that she felt fortunate to have spent time with her mother in the week leading up to her death and requested privacy during this difficult time. No additional details about the causes of death have been disclosed.

Patricia, 87, was an opera singer and vocal coach of Irish-American heritage. In Carey’s 2020 memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, the singer reflected on their complex relationship, describing the pain and confusion it caused her. Carey acknowledged that professional jealousy, often a part of success, was particularly painful when it came from her own mother. Despite the difficulties, she wrote in the dedication, “To Pat, my mother, who, through it all, I do believe actually did the best she could. I will love you the best I can, always.”

In a 2022 interview with Gayle King, Carey admitted that her mother’s criticism had significantly impacted her during her childhood.

She added that she had always credited her mother with exposing her to music.

Carey’s relationship with her older sister Alison, 63, was also complex.

In her memoir, she wrote of being estranged from her and her brother Morgan, saying that it was “emotionally and physically safer for me to not have any contact”.

Alison sued Carey for $1.2m (£909,780) following the release of the memoir for “immense emotional distress”, calling it “vindictive”.

The singer’s father, Alfred, died in 2002 of cancer at the age of 72.

Carey is regarded as one of the most successful singers globally.

Her holiday single All I Want For Christmas Is You is the best-selling Christmas song by a female artist of all time.

She holds the record for the most Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles by a solo artist at 19 songs, has sold over 220 million records worldwide, and served as a judge on the competition show American Idol.